Meet a man who lost 70 Billion USD in a day: Masayoshi Son

Do you believe this guy was once briefly the richest man in the world and then lost $70 billion in a day, no right? Well, you have to believe it. Masayoshi Son is the Chairman and the CEO of a Japanese multinational investment holding company, SoftBank. He has invested in many Indian companies such as Ola, Oyo, Paytm, Snapdeal, Flipkart, FirstCry, Meesho etc.

Some Quick Facts about Masayoshi Son

TITLE	DESCCRIPTION
Name	Masayoshi Son
Age	66 years (as of 2023)
Birthdate	11 August, 1957
Zodiac	Leo
Birthplace	Tosu, Saga, Japan
Hobbies	Inventing ideas
Educational Qualification	University of California, Berkeley
Occupation	Entrepreneur, Philanthropist
Net Worth	$23 Billion (as of 2023)
Nationality	Japanese
Religion	Not known
Father’s Name	Son Sam-heon
Mother’s Name	Li Yuzi
Social Media Presence	Not known

Let’s put some light on his early life

Masayoshi Son was born in Tosu a city in the eastern part of Saga Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan.

Son is a 3rd generation Zainichi Korean who is an ethnic Korean with permanent residency or citizenship in Japan. Son’s grandfather, Son Jong-Kyung, moved from Daegu to Japan during the Japanese colonial period, where he worked as a miner. His father is Son Sam-Heon.

Son pursued his interests in business by securing a meeting with Japanese McDonald’s president Den Fujita, Taking his advice, Son began studying English and Computer Science.

He left to study in the U.S. on Fujita’s advice. At age 16, Son moved from Japan to California and lived with his friends and family in South San Francisco. He finished high school in three weeks by taking the required exams at Serramonte High.

Son attended the University of California, Berkeley where he studied economics and computer science majoring in economics. 

He began his first business endeavors while still a student. With the help of some professors, Son created an electronic translator that he sold to Sharp Corporation for $1.7 million. He made another $1.5 million by importing used video game machines from Japan, on credit and installing them in dormitories and restaurants.

Son graduated from Berkeley with a B.A. in Economics in 1980 and started a video game company called Unison World in Oakland, CA. He later sold the company to an associate for close to $2 million, and the company was eventually acquired by Kyocera.

His Physical Appearance

This intelligent man is approximately 1.7m (5’7″) in height and weighs around 80 kg. He has a greyish hair with brown eyes.

Some Interesting Facts about Masayoshi Son

• At the young age of 16, Masayoshi Son started his first business selling used calculators.
• In 2017, Masayoshi Son launched the Vision Fund, a $100 billion investment vehicle focused on funding startups and emerging technologie.
• Masayoshi Son played a pivotal role in bringing the mobile internet revolution to Japan.

• Fluent in multiple languages, including Japanese, English, and Korean, Masayoshi Son is able to communicate and negotiate effectively with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
• Masayoshi Son has a passion for art. He is an avid collector and has invested in renowned works, showcasing his appreciation for creativity and cultural expression.
• Masayoshi Son has predicted that artificial general intelligence will be a reality in the next 10 years. 

His Professional Career

Masayoshi Son was the founder of SoftBank Corp. in 1981, a software vendor that became a major telecommunications operator in Japan and was later transformed into SoftBank Group Corp., an investment holding company. SoftBank Corp., the telecom, remained in business as a spun-out company of SoftBank Group Corp, the investment firm.

In 2021, Masayoshi Son relinquished his position as CEO of SoftBank Mobile, the mobile business of SoftBank Corp.

Son was an early investor in internet firms, buying a share of Yahoo! in 1995 and investing a $20 million stake in Alibaba in 1999; he was briefly the richest person in the world before the stock market crashed which made him lose 70 Billion dollars in the dot-com bust. The vast majority of his other deals have failed.  

Son set up SoftBank’s Vision Fund in 2017 to be the world’s biggest technology investor and proceeded to pour more than $140 billion into hundreds of startups. His tendency to bid up valuations and give founders more money than they asked for earned him recriminations from Silicon Valley rivals.

Son invested in many companies such as Apple, Qualcomm, Foxconn, Oyo, Ola, Paytm etc.

Masayoshi’s Personal Life

Son met his wife, Masami Ohno, the daughter of a prominent Japanese doctor, while both were students at the University of California, Berkeley. They got married in 1979 and have two daughters.

He lives in Tokyo in a three-story mansion that is valued at $50 million. Son also has a golf range with technology to mimic the weather conditions and temperature of the world’s top golf courses. He has also bought a home near Silicon Valley in Woodside, California, that cost him $117 million. He owns the SoftBank Hawks, a professional Japanese baseball team.

Son has three brothers and is the second oldest of the siblings. His youngest brother, Taizo Son, is a serial entrepreneur and investor, having founded GungHo Online Entertainment and the venture capital firm Mistletoe.

Net Worth and Salary

Even after losing $70 Billion overnight, he has a net worth of around $23 Billion as of 2023.

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